Tag Archives: entrepreneur

Want Company Culture? Just Do Stuff

From time to time I am interviewed for various podcasts or magazine articles about entrepreneurship, business, and the like. Besides the inevitable telling of the infamous Lovesac story, I get asked a lot about company culture–often referred to as “corporate culture,” which I bristle to just by nomenclature alone. (It is for this reason that you’ll never see us refer to “Lovesac Corporate.” Instead we use “Headquarters.”) But I digress…

Company culture is in the eye of the beholder. If people who work at Lovesac think our company culture sucks–then it sucks. If people who work at Lovesac think our company culture is awesome–then it is awesome. What people on the outside think doesn’t matter very much–except, of course, when it comes to attracting talent. Either way, it is my fault. And what’s really crazy is that after all these years, I can confidently say it always both sucks and is awesome at the same time…because you can’t please everybody all the time. Just get used to that.

But I find the perception from the outside is that Lovesac seems to have a really cool, alive, and vibrant culture. So I get asked that question over and over: How do you build company culture? My anti-climactic response: Do stuff. I vlogged about it…
We do some weird things at Lovesac HQ to keep things interesting…

Have an idea? Think of something that sounds fun, or cool, or interesting? Do it. Try it. Spend a buck and go for it. Many “cultural” events don’t cost much or even cost anything. A week ago while I was out of the office visiting Lovesac stores one of our HQ Sac’rs took it upon themselves to throw a spontaneous “Chips and Dips” party at like 3pm on a weekday. They gave a few days’ notice, sent an email around to everyone at HQ and who knew–they had an amazing turnout of chips and dips and people from all departments just hanging out, having a good time on a random Thursday.

You know you have culture when you don’t have to “do” it all.

But until that day–just do things. Whether you are the “boss” or not. We all end up spending most of our waking hours not with the ones we love, but with those we work with. It is kind of sad you think about it–but it is the human condition. With all of the time we must spend at work, it might as well not suck, so be sure about how to go about presenting a companies vision and begin with making your workers not hate the culture they’re surrounded by. After all, as I remind all department heads at Lovesac when we have our Tuesday meeting (which itself is a brick in the wall of our culture here): If our culture at Lovesac rocks–it is your fault. If our culture at Lovesac sucks–its your fault.

The truth is: It’s all our faults. Every last one of us is part of a company culture, and what are we doing to make it not suck.

Get off the couch and go make something happen.

— Shawn

Lovesac Founder & CEO

The Lovesac Story Unabridged: Episode 2 / 50

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The saga of the Lovesac story continues with this second installment on my daily CEO vlog called “Get Off the Couch.” I do my best to recount every gory detail that went into the earliest days of the Lovesac–before it was even called a Lovesac! It was really just this huge not-beanbag thing that I had made and people loved.

I had to put it away for 2 years to serve a mission for my church and when I came back I had the good fortune to meet Dave Underwood–who became the head of Product Development at Lovesac and is still here today, 18 years later. Whether you are a budding entrepreneur or just someone who likes a good story, the history of Lovesac won’t disappoint…and I’ve never told it like this before, to anyone.

Enjoy. And subscribe to my channel on YouTube!

— Shawn

The Lovesac Story Unabridged: Episode 1 / 50

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My daily vlog called “GET OFF THE COUCH” has a different theme for every day of the week. Thursdays = Throwback Thursday, and it is my plan to draw from my past experiences to tell stories of value. While there is a 20 minute company history video available at Lovesac.com that tells the “whole” story, all I can say is that it is not the whole Lovesac story. #ThrowbackThursday

The Lovesac story is a saga. The Lovesac story is gritty. The Lovesac story has more twists and turns than I could possibly cover in 20 minutes, let alone 20 episodes.

This sexy beast of a car makes the unabridged Lovesac Story…worth a listen

So enjoy this, the first of what will hopefully be many #ThrowbackThursday vlog posts allowing me to go deep, get into detail, and tell y’all how it really is (was). I am grateful to all of you who have supported me and this brand through all these years and all of our good times and bad. I’m especially grateful for the hundreds (thousands now) of Sac’rs who have given months and years of their lives in Lovesac Stores across the nation building this company one couch at a time.

Enjoy.

— Shawn

Thursday Thought: New Years Eeeeeeeeeve

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“Although no one can go back and make a brand new start, anyone can start from now and make a brand new ending.”

— Carl Bard

[ An excerpt from an internal email sent to all Lovesac employees 12/31/2015 ]

As cliché as it may be, I am a strong believer in finding a quiet corner—maybe just in your car or closet—to clear your mind, reflect on what you achieved in 2015, and make not more than three crystal clear and achievable new year’s resolutions with a simple action plan to stick to them. Do it! Make time for it!! Our Lovesac Family is not a thing—it is a collection of 350+ individual human beings, and we are only as great as each individual is. We all rely on each other.

Its time for big things

But besides it being a time for resolutions, New Year’s Eve is a time to celebrate—and we have a lot to celebrate! Together, we have made great things happen this year. As tired as you may feel, or as “not pretty” as it sometimes is around here, YOU are absolutely responsible for Lovesac’s turning some major corners in 2015 and setting this company on a path to achieve growth and success at a rate that will make the past few years feel slow.

It may or may not feel like it to you, but we are in a good and stable position as a company, and is your fault that we are there. We certainly have endless work left to do, a hundred shortcomings, and a thousand things to improve upon…but we should all feel good about what we have achieved this year. I am really proud of what we have done and I’m also proud of the chance we have to influence this world going forward—filling it with product that has been designed-for-life, growing the overall economy and providing opportunities for more people to work and share in our spoils along the way. We should all be proud of that. We are not just selling stuff—we are building a company—together.

Thank you, thank you, thank you.

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO US!!!

— Shawn

Couch = Lovesac. A Stake in the Ground.

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Friends, followers, and members of the #LovesacFamily,

It was my mentor, Richard Branson, who once told me (while stargazing atop the roof of the main house of Necker Island), “I believe that we make our own luck.” I neither understood nor agreed with that comment at the time. I get it now, and 10 years later, I write this post to firmly plant a stake in the ground and to allow all of you (and the universe) to hold us accountable: Within 5 years, when people think “couch,” the first brand they’ll think of is “Lovesac.” If you want to know more about why I’m making this audacious claim and how its going to happen read more in this fantastic article published recently in Furniture Today.

WE’RE ALSO IN FORBES! I say this in caps because not only was it a great article about innovative marketing techniques, but the very publication of this article is exciting to me, and evidence of our finally taking outward, and deliberate steps toward making our own luck a reality. Check out the full Forbes article!

Showing a little #MovingDayLove, giving Sactionals to one couple in Boston

Lovesac has been laying low for nearly a decade—rebuilding over the legacy of a not-beanbag franchise that needed a reboot. Sactionals, with all of its 4 patents, is that reboot—and it has taken us years to retool our brand DNA and our company infrastructure in a way that would warrant us finally shouting from the rooftops: “There is a better way to couch!”

Finally, in the spirit of making noise: I’LL BE ON TV THIS WEEK! Wednesday, September 9, at 10pm EST, I get to appear on a CNBC show called “Make Me a Millionaire Inventor.” Check it out!

This is a show that is originally from England that is like the “Shark Tank,” but exclusively for inventors. I’m like the “Shark.” The invention I get to consider investing in is called The Wake Wing. Picture being dragged behind a boat at high-speed, standing on an airplane wing meant to fly. If you know me well, you know this was the perfect opportunity for me. But will I invest? Or will it crash and burn like most of my wake boarding attempts….find out live, tomorrow.

If I’m not designing couches, I’m on the boat

As a personal favor: please tweet, share, and continue to help us build the #LovesacFamily, as we do our best to make your life on a couch just a little richer—a little more stress free.

Thanks so much for your support!

— Shawn

Going Big: The Avocado Bacon Burger

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By Guest Contributor: Mike Majlak

Congratulations, its a monster.

GET THESE THINGS
One pound 85/15 ground beef
One package thick cut hickory smoked bacon
One whole avocado
One head of romaine lettuce
One vine ripened tomato
One package Cheddar Jack cheese
Two potato rolls or hamburger buns
Montreal Steak seasoning
Mayonnaise (optional)

Moderation wasn’t something that ever came very easily to me. My mom always tried to warn me against having “too much of a good thing” but it generally fell upon deaf ears. I didn’t want one solid piece of art- I wanted Notorious BIG posters on every, single part of my bedroom wall. And even as an adult, this is still the way I am. I don’t have a halfway setting. I’m either going big- or I’m going to sleep.

The way I think about and prepare food follows this same pattern. So when it came time to write a post for Shawny and Life on a Couch, I wanted to do an over-the-top creation based on my favorite plate in life- the all-American beef cheeseburger.

Press your own fattie!

I started with some really fresh, not-so-lean 85/15 beef from the local market. The modern health craze we see before us everyday is great- just not for burgers. Every time I eat a “lean” burger I liken it to eating cardboard. Besides, my grandfather Pop-Pop ate 80/20 burgers all day and he made it to a ripe old 91. Eat what you want, just run a little more is my theory.

Anyways- I shaped the meat into some half-pound snowball patties. I like to leave ‘em a little fatter as opposed to squishing into true patties to keep that homestyle feel. I then gave the burgers a GENEROUS (read: anti-moderate) rub of my go-to Montreal Steak seasoning and stuck them under the broiler. I live in Connecticut and there’s no way I was going out to the grill. If you live somewhere where it’s super-warm right now: 1) use your grill and 2) I’m jealous and I don’t like you until May/June.

Don’t wimp out.

As the burgers broiled, I started thinking “How do we bring this thing to the next level?” And the answer was obvious- thick cut hickory bacon. Moderation would say two slices per burger, so I figured we would go with four. Broil up the bacon and put it to the side (you can even do this before the burger to get it over with).

No caption needed here.

Now how do we really step this up? I figured about 2-3 slices of really thick Pepper Jack Cheese (I used some from Cabot that was amazing) would be logical. And then right when you started to get overwhelmed- BOOM! Open up an avocado and cut it into not-so-modest slices. If you want this burger to be super-burly, chop up some lettuce, tomatoes and prep some mayo also.

When the burgers start to approach your desired temp (I hope you like medium-rare), toss the cheese on top and let the broiler start to do its work. Now grab a couple potato buns and toast them just a bit. This is the one place moderation IS a good thing. Nobody likes a burnt bun.

Prep now, smile later.

Check out the picture. Follow my stacking order OR choose a different way. The danger level on eating this thing is probably a 9/10 so maybe eat over a plate (don’t be a slob). Luckily for me, I ate the burger over my Sactionals which have machine-washable covers 🙂

Like reverse Jenga, with food.

Hopefully this avocado bacon burger brings you some happy summer thoughts to brighten your mood. If you really wanna follow my no moderation lifestyle, pair this bad boy with some waffle fries and a chocolate shake. After all, it is the middle of winter. If you start to feel chubby, just put on some sweats and call it a day.

Mike Majlak in the Rockies.

Mike Majlak is a published food fanatic/adventurer/photo-junkie. Follow his antics on Instagram @heybigmike.

Did you give this thing a shot?! Let me know in the comments!

– Shawny

A Peek Inside the New Lovesac HQ!

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Anyone who has had the pleasure (read: sarcasm) of visiting our original Stamford Lovesac offices on Canal Street could never accuse us of being frivolous. That Lovesac HQ was a space meant for 20, that held about 50 of us in the end. Having holed up in our first Stamford Lovesac office since 2007, our recent move to downtown Stamford was long overdue.

Welcome to Lovesac HQ!

To celebrate, let’s just say we tipped our hat to one of our favorite cult classic films, “Office Space,” and “took care of ” any equipment that we loved to hate in my backyard.

Ode to “Office Space.” Pick your weapon, say goodbye to the old Lovesac HQ.

This incredibly dedicated Lovesac crew deserves only the best and they’ve put up with a lot as we’ve built this together from scraps. As a furniture and design brand, we did our best to consciously create a space that would be not only Lovesac-comfortable, but inspiring, and uplifting.

As a growing company that bootstrapped its way into existence, we did it for a fraction of the cost for offices of the same capabilities. And as masochists we endeavored to do much of it ourselves. We designed and built every seat, every the table, all of the AV systems, and ultimately created a very non-traditional office plan all with our in-house talent.

We’d love to know what you think about our concept, so please “reply” and let us know what you think in the comments below!

The Landing Pad: This comfy spot will change each season along with our stores. Take a seat–we’ll be right with you! Floor-to-ceiling seasonal high-rez graphic, Supersac, Sactionals, on-season paint and even fully merchandised store-shelves. (Truth is, this entry makes a great place to go get some work done, or even have a team meeting). Welcome to Lovesac!

No receptionist here. Answer your own damn phone!

Customer Love: Call us. Live-chat us. Invite us to come out and help you re-cover your Sactionals if necessary-this is the team whose only goal is to become your new best friend.

Our truly open seating plan–no offices for anyone–but lots of nooks to go take a call.

Fabric Library: The Lovesac Customer Love crew will gladly send you any requested samples from our massive Lovesac cover fabric swatch library with hundreds to choose from. They’ll even help you design your room!

Express yourself.

Changing the Workplace Game: Humans have worked from proper desks for thousands of years. Laptops and mobile phones have only been with us for a few of those. Realizing that we often get more done at home, working from a laptop on a couch, than we do at the office for the new Lovesac HQ we chose to challenge the entire notion of how we work-let’s live and work on the couch!

Most of us don’t even need a landline anymore–there’s one in every meeting room.

Sactionals Workstations: These are the same Sactionals Base Pieces we sell but they are clamped to a tall Side in back, for privacy, and custom wingback Sides to aid in noise reduction (no–you can’t buy them yet). They’re all washable and changeable covers, and just like we offer to our customers, everyone at Lovesac chooses their own custom fabric combination as an expression of their own individuality.

: Sit back and relax.

: Get in the zone.

: The midday stance.

: Full focus.

The Functional Coffee Table: The coffee-table-desk aligns perfectly with the height of our custom wingback Sactionals Sides for stability in multiple working positions. Each has a locking file-drawer, removable pencil trays and convenient power supply with multiple cord pass-through cavities-another Lovesac original design.

Super functional.

The Great Room: Coffee bars at the window double as standing desks. Our counter-high 12′ long table was a real joy to get into the building, and is another Lovesac original design, with massive tuck-under benches making it as much of a standing big-project table as a place to eat for a crew of ten. And what great room is complete without Sactionals and a furry Moviesac to escape to. This office encourages you to leave your “spot,” go mobile, work by the window, on a Sac, in a quiet nook, or in a group. Change your seat, change your perspective.

Most offices have a kitchen, we have a great room.

Mission Control: Twice a week everyone at HQ gathers for a mid-day “rally” where we meet new faces, recognize outsized effort, collaborate and coordinate. The DJ table spins real vinyl from our growing collection, and is complete with open Spotify and Pandora accounts on the iPad for all to change as they like. The Nintendo Wii, karaoke capabilities and the 10′ pull-down screen behind it facilitates any kind of meeting, party, screening or impromptu dance-off that needs to happen.

Wireless laptop control. 10′ screen. CD. DVD. Pandora. Spotify. Netflix. Nintendo Wii. Karaoke mic. 1500 watts.

The War Room: Comfort is king at Lovesac, but Lovesac offices need to also be extremely functional. Glass boards are incredibly useful and far more durable than typical whiteboards–but also way more expensive. Here’s a good hack: Find a local glass shop and order 1/4″ tempered glass with drilled holes for stainless steel “standoffs.” = Sexy looking glass boards at a fraction of the cost!

No offices! Get a room.

The Panic Room: Not only is each room cleverly named to make calling meetings there fun, but each is functionally designed to be both comfy, productive, and most of all: usable! Too many offices have complicated AV systems that require IT to come over every time you want to hold a meeting. Each of our rooms has a bluetooth soundbar, playable right from your phone or computer. We worked hard to find the best soundbar under £100 so we could afford to put one in every room. And each flatscreen includes a wireless USB device that allows any laptop to zap its screen and sound right to the big screen and sounder–no wires necessary. We even went so far as to put a remote control caddy in every room so those pesky remotes wouldn’t end up lost–and useless. Good design is in the details.

Super, ultra high-tech

The Vault: Nobody at Lovesac HQ has an office. From the CEO on down, we all have our spot on the floor, but we also all have access to a dozen rooms, large to tiny, where we can take a call, hold a meeting, or just go shut the door and do some work.

Our office-less office.

Grand Central: Lovesac’s version of a board room. Most of our big meetings (even board meetings) happen here. Have a seat and get comfy!

The right room for the right meeting.

Can I just live here?: No–but if you visit Lovesac HQ on any given weeknight, you’re likely to find a few people lingering long after hours tapping the keg, throwing some darts, or playing a little Mario Kart. Its all in the details.

All work and no play makes any office lame.

The Floor: We’ve all got our spot and we all move around a lot. Moving around, trading spaces, and getting out of your comfort zone (only to get into another) encourages interaction and collaboration.

Love thy neighbor – or move to a different seat.

The Studio: This is where all of our product designers, graphic designers, architects, industrial designers, UX designers, web designers, copywriters, visual merchandisers and anyone else with a creative bone collaborate to create the future of furniture.

Get creative @Lovesac

The Library: Take a book. Leave a book. Borrow a book. We have stacks of many of our “required readings” here and we all have a desire to improve.

“Desire to improve” is one of our “permission-to-play values” at Lovesac.

Sign in: Everyone who visits Lovesac HQ must sign in on our massive brand canvas. Take a minute to color-in the Lovesac logo using nothing but black pens. It may take years–but this is the brand we are building together.

This is the brand we are building together

Magnet fetish: Someday we’ll have a whole wall of these. Bring us one! Add to the collection. Represent.

If you visit us at Lovesac HQ, bring us a refrigerator magnet!

A living history: Get your face on the wall of Sac’rs! Anyone at Lovesac can send an email to that electronic frame on the wall and add to our living history, in real time!

We are Lovesac

The Values: Rather than just writing words on the wall we try to live them. All of our Lovesac core values are embedded into this “Where’s Waldo” inspired graphic. Can you find them all?

This poster will live in the back of every Lovesac store–its who we are.

The Culture: Every company has a culture, but many evolve by default. We’re trying our best to build a culture by design–not by default at the new Lovesac HQ–and it all starts with our values. You’ll find them on every door.

We do our best to integrate and live to our values at Lovesac HQ

The vibe: Lovesac is more than foam and fabric. Lovesac is a lifestyle. We cannot expect to have a happy friendly vibe in our stores, or even on our website, if we don’t have it in our office. I believe that customers can just smell authenticity. I believe that culture needs to leak out of the seams and penetrate all areas of the company, our products, and our people. That starts here. It’s up to us to keep the vibe alive.

Sadly, we often spend more time at work than with our own families. It might as well not suck.

And the cherry on top: Plenty of beverages available to pour over the 170 pounds of chewable, crunchable, nugget ice that our in-house ice machine is able to crank out every day. I love it so much I take some home in a plastic bag at night. Game changer.

Nugget ice — game changer.

Lovesac Headquarters Team

I hope you enjoyed our tour of the new Lovesac HQ. You are welcome to come visit us–share a treat at the bar, challenge someone to a game of darts, run the DJ table, or simply add to our ridiculous collection of refrigerator magnets. But before you go, don’t forget to color in the collaborative logo, sign your name to prove you were here, and wish us well. Where we’re going, we need all the help and support we can get. #BigThingsInStore #Lovesac

— Shawny

PRESS / ARTICLES ABOUT THE NEW LOVESAC HQ:

http://m.stamfordadvocate.com/business/article/Lovesac-kicks-back-in-new-HQ-5976611.php

Stamford’s Lovesac reinvents the couch and prospers

Gallery of Lovesac HQ and our launch party. Wish you were here!

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Explain it Like I’m Five: Thanksgiving Apple Pie

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By Mike Majlak

Let me start off by saying- I don’t cook. I’m the classic man. If you gave me a few frozen burgers, I could grill ‘em up and they might just be edible. But if you put me in charge of say, a lasagna- things might not turn out too well. Baking, especially, is something I have no clue about but I am eager to learn. To start off, I will need to buy all the right equipment. Luckily websites like The Buyers Impact (more here)review all different kinds of products so I could find the best tools.

That being said, the culinary craft is not lost in my family. My mom Robin (the same mom who brought you the ultimate Macaroni n Cheese walkthrough) is constantly trying to teach me a thing or two about her passion. She invited me back into her kitchen to showcase the perfect apple pie to gobble on right before you slump down into your favorite couch for your annual L-tryptophan sponsored sleep session.

First she sent me to the grocery store to pick up some ingredients. Between scrolling Instagram and text messaging, I was somehow able to grab them correctly on the first try:

Ingredients
4 pounds Granny Smith apples, peeled, quartered, and cored
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1 teaspoon orange zest
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed orange juice
1/2 cup sugar, plus 1 teaspoon to sprinkle on top
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon kosher salt
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
Pie Crust (follow recipe below)
1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon water

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Cut each apple quarter in thirds crosswise and combine in a bowl with the zests, juices, 1/2 cup sugar, flour, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg.

Roll out half the pie dough and drape it over a 9- or 10-inch pie pan to extend about 1/2-inch over the rim. Don’t stretch the dough; if it’s too small, just put it back on the board and re-roll it.

Fill the pie with the apple mixture. Brush the edge of the bottom pie crust with the egg wash so the top crust will adhere. Top with the second crust and trim the edges to about 1-inch over the rim. Tuck the edge of the top crust under the edge of the bottom crust and crimp the 2 together with your fingers or a fork. Brush the entire top crust with the egg wash, sprinkle with 1 teaspoon sugar, and cut 4 or 5 slits.

Place the pie on a sheet pan and bake for 1 to 1 1/4 hours, or until the crust is browned and the juices begin to bubble out. Be sure to leave slits in crust exposed to allow moisture to vent out! Serve warm.

Pie Crust:

12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) very cold unsalted butter

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1 tablespoon sugar

1/3 cup very cold vegetable shortening

6 to 8 tablespoons (about 1/2 cup) ice water

Dice the butter and return it to the refrigerator while you prepare the flour mixture. Place the flour, salt, and sugar in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade and pulse a few times to mix. Add the butter and shortening. Pulse 8 to 12 times, until the butter is the size of peas. With the machine running, pour the ice water down the feed tube and pulse the machine until the dough begins to form a ball. Dump out on a floured board and roll into a ball. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Cut the dough in half. Roll each piece on a well-floured board into a circle, rolling from the center to the edge, turning and flouring the dough to make sure it doesn’t stick to the board. Fold the dough in half, place in a pie pan, and unfold to fit the pan. Repeat with the top crust.

Yield: 2 (10-inch) crusts (top and bottom)

I wish I could take some credit for the baking that was involved in this pie, but I really can’t. Instead I’ll take this time to personally thank all the beautiful mothers out there who make Thanksgiving dinner so easy on all us guys. Love ya mom!

Thanks to guest contributor Mike Majlak for sharing with us. Do you usually bake your own Thanksgiving Day dessert?! Let us know in the comments!

–Shawny, Founder of Lovesac & Life on a Couch

The Emotional Bond Between You and Your Couch Is Real.

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By Casey Mullins

Four and half years ago I documented the history of the unsightly green couch I inherited when I married my husband. I thought it was ugly the first time I saw it and I still think it’s ugly every time I walk into my bedroom. “If it’s so ugly why don’t you get rid of it?” Because I’m emotionally attached to the ugly hunter green couch that leaks oil on my carpet and threatens to swallow you whole if you sit on it wrong. It’s where my husband and I had our first kiss, it’s where we sat for the first 10 years of our marriage and it’s been in every place we’ve called home since 2000.

In my 14 years of marriage and 9 years of parenthood I’ve learned you must be very careful about what you bring into your life because there’s a very good chance you will end up with an emotional bond to it and find yourself struggling to separate yourself from the memories associated with it. The chair I’m sitting on this very moment is bright orange and hideous, but it belonged to my husband’s favorite grandma and it’s where I slept through both of my pregnancies when I couldn’t stand being in bed anymore. There’s no denying it’s ugly, but there’s also no denying how comfortable and well designed it is.

Over the last four years the history of our green couch has grown, it supported me through another pregnancy, became my favorite place to nurse my new baby and continues to be a staple piece of furniture we rotate around as we go throughout our daily lives. The brown couch we chose for downstairs has its own budding history as well. We have over three thousand square feet and a dozen rooms in our home but on any given night you will find all four of us piled up downstairs on the couch (six if you count the cats.) We were sitting on the couch when we told our oldest I was pregnant and we’ve all taken turns being various levels of sick, injured, sad, happy, or bored on it.

We spend a lot of time visiting historic places throughout our travels, pausing for a moment to remember the momentous occasions that happened there and wondering what these historic monuments would say if they could talk. More than ever, our couches are a central part to our story as a family and as silly as it sounds, we’ve started to regard them as the overstuffed sentinels they are. Not a day goes by that one of our couches goes unused, even when we’re out of town we always return to evidence of the cats making full use of them in our absence.

Have you ever stopped to think about an important couch in your own life? Who has sat there, what stories has it heard, or what grand life events has it been witness to? What did it feel like, smell like, or sound like when you sat on it?

Think about it for a minute, I can promise you’ll think of something. It’s a great question to ask loved ones as you’re traveling around this holiday season, you may learn bit of new family history and begin to regard grandma’s plastic wrapped floral couch in a whole new way.

8 Strange Candies You Won’t See Trick-Or-Treating

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By Mike Majlak

We all remember the excitement that built up around Halloween when we were kids. Trying on costumes, carving pumpkins, maybe even a haunted hayride- all added to the anticipation surrounding many children’s favorite holiday. Now as adults, much of that excitement comes from “manning” the door and handing out candy to children that might remind us of a time when life was just a little more carefree than it is now.

Carving pumpkins is just so hot right now.

The night of Halloween itself, when most kids go trick-or-treating, holds the highest level of tradition, ritual, and intrigue. Every time the doorbell rings and we must pry ourselves off the beloved couch, we feel just a little bit of that youthful energy so freely exhibited one crisp night each and every autumn.

Much of the excitement for adults on Halloween comes along with choosing which candy we will hand out to the kids of the neighborhood. We all remember being kids and how we loved Old Miss Winters for giving out King Size Snickers bars- or how we skipped right past the next-door neighbor Frank’s house because he just gave out those stupid Smarties that nobody could possibly like. There have always been the Halloween mainstays- the Snickers bars, the candy corn, the Sweet Tarts. But here are 8 strange candies that you may not have ever seen- and maybe for good reason…

8. Sigmund Freud Head Pops
Lollipops shaped to look just like Sigmund Freud and taste like watermelon- but operate free of any of those pesky copays or sticky coinsurance situations.

Sigmund Freud Lollipops

7. Chicken Sucker Candy
A lollipop in the shape of a rotisserie chicken that has a very strange orange flavor and eerily offers none of the same protein advantages as your normal chicken breast.

Chicken Sucker Candy

6. Forked Eyeball Suckers
Not really sure who’s idea this one was, but it’s pretty gruesome. Cherry and raspberry flavored eyeballs on the end of a popular kitchen utensil begs the question- “What the fork?!”

Hey man, you got something in your eye. It's a fork.

Forked Eyeballs Candy

5. Idaho Spud

Ok, so this one really isn’t that strange. A chunk of chocolate filled with marshmallow and sprinkled with coconut. I could actually go for one of these right now…

Idaho Spud Chocolate

4. Zombie Food Chocolates
Small morsels of milk chocolate molded in the shape of human brains, feet, and anatomically correct hearts that ooze red caramel when bitten into. These are sure to satisfy the Walking Dead fan in the family.

Zombie Food Chocolates

3. Box of Boogers Gummies
A terrifyingly disgusting box of gummies that pushes the envelope of what is even edible. They even feature three distinct flavors: Snottermelon, Sour Green Boogy, and Lemon Loogy. If you somehow have these for Halloween, you picked a real winner! If gummies are your thing but you’d prefer something a bit more healthy and beneficial for your body, you might want to shop at Green Roads for their edible CBD collection.

Box of Boogers Gummies

2. Gummy Flesh Fries
Watermelon flavored gummies made to resemble sawed-off human fingers. You may want someone to offer you a “hand” with eating these. I guess that’s not really that funny. Whatever.

Flesh Fries Gummies

1. Meatball Bubble Gum
And coming in at the number one spot is bubble gum that tastes like bubble gum- but looks like meatballs. Yes, like meatballs.

Meatball Bubble Gum

Thanks to guest contributor Mike Majlak for bringing these ridiculous candies to Lifeonacouch.org. Would you ever try any of these? Let us know!

–Shawny
Founder, Lovesac & Life on a Couch